Tastemakers

Krug

Scott Council

(Scott Council)

Jonathan Schultz

For much of Los Angeles early history, resource allocation meant bringing water to its citizens through remarkably ingenious means (Well divert a lake!) but little foresight (Well suck it dry in a decade!). Contemporary L.A. does better in regulating its profligate thirst, but as Krug sees it, there are new frontiers of water conservation that beg to be explored.

Krugs company, Falcon Waterfree Technol­ogies, believes conservation is best served by relentlessly focused products. He makes urinals that require no running water, thanks to a biodegradable sealant liquid whose density is lower than that of urine. In high-volume commercial settings, a Falcon urinal conserves 40,000 gallons of water per year. Since the first installation in 2001, the company says more than 150,000 urinalseverywhere from the Staples Center to the Taj Mahalhave saved roughly 17 billion gallons.

With a résumé heavy on high-profile legal and executive positions at Paramount and Disney, Krug himself does not shout toilet entrepreneur. At his core, however, he is a businessman. When you launch brand-new technology, theres no established path, he says. And frankly, thats exciting.